Half to thomas i



NO. 748;747. I PATENTED JAN.-5,1904.

, -B. W. KINDIG, JR.

HEAD CONTROLLER FOR HORSES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. so. 1902.

no MODEL.

I Y Rhine/woo 3 V o I v m: mm: FUCHS cc, rum'auwo" wnsumcron, n. c

UNITED STATES Patented January 5, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN W. KINDIG, JR., OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO THOMAS I. WELSH, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

HEAD-CONTROLLER FOR HORSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 748,747, dated January 5, 1904.

Application filed September 30,1902. S i l 1%, 125,402. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN W. KINDIG, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at York,in the county ofYork and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Head-Controller for Horses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in racing-harness, and more particularly to what may be termed a head-regulator designed to hold the head of a race-horse in its proper position.

It is well-understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains that when a horse is in his stride and going smoothly his head must be checked up to pre- Vent him from breaking, since it is impossi bio for a horse with a free head to keep his stride when going at top speed. When a horse breaks or loses his stride, the head is thrown involuntarily either upward or downward,

interfering materially with the recovery. I have found by experiment that if the head of the animal is held securely in its natural position his gait is steadied and the tendency to break is minimized and, furthermore, that he recovers quickly if under the stress of an I extraordinary efiort his stride is lost.

The object of the invention therefore is to provide a harness attachment in the form of a head-regulator, which without punishing the horse will steady the head and hold it in its natural position against movement either upward or downward, thus improving his gait and preventing bad breaks.

To the accomplishment of this object the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and succinctly defined in the appended claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my head-regulator applied as in use, and Fig. 2 is adetail perspective view of the regulator-frame.

Like numerals of reference are-employed to designate corresponding parts throughout both views.

The device constituting my invention may be employed in connection with various types of bridles 3 butthat illustrated includes cheeklstraps 1, a head-band 2, acrown-piece 3, and

a throat-latch 4, as usual.

The head-regulating harnessconstituting my invention includes an overhead regulator for checking up the horses head and a combined jawand line martingale secured to the overhead regulator and serving to prevent the head of the animal from being thrust up.

The overhead regulator includes what may be termed a regulator-frame 5, comprising a pair of side bars 6 and 7, connected by transversely-disposed arches 8 and 9 and having their front ends 10 and 11 curved upwardly and provided with terminal loops 12 for the attachment of the branches of the overdraw 13, as shown in Fig. 1. The side bars 6 and 7 are disposed at opposite sides of thehorses muzzle, and a nose-band 14: is connected at its opposite ends to the bars between the arches. The nose-band is also secured to the lower end of a face-strap 15, connected at its upper extremity to the crown-piece 3 of the bridle, said strap serving to retain the regulator frame against downward movement. At the front end of the regulator-frame is attached a chin-strap 16, extending between the side bars and passing under the horses chin,

and at the rear end of the frame and similarly extending between the side bars thereof is a jaw-strap 17, passing under the jaw of the animal and preferably provided with a jowl-pad 18, as shown in Fig. 1. It will now be seen that the regulator-frame is attached to the head of the animal by the nose, chin,

and jaw strapsand that the connection of the overdraw 13 to the upturned ends of the side bars 6 and '7 will serve tohold the head I vide acombined jaw and line martingale 19,

secured to the girth in a manner well understood in the art and having three branches 20, 21, and 22, the first constituting the jawmartingale, equipped with a snap-hook 23 for engagement with a ring 24, secured to the ing breaks; but if for any reason the stride should be momentarily lost the steadying of the aninials head and the impossibility of its being dropped down or thrust up will aid in his quick recovery. Any slight slack in the jaw-martingale is taken up by the lines, and the driver is thus enabled to steady the animal and to aid him in keeping his head in its natural position.

It is thought that from the foregoing the construction and mode of use of my headcontroller for horses will be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art; but while the illustrated embodiment of the invention is believed at this time to be preferable I wish to be distinctly understood as reserving to myself the right to effect such changes, modifications, and variations of the illustrated structure as may be fairly embraced within the scope of the protection prayed.

What I claim is- '1; In a device of the character described,

the combination with a frame, and means for securing the same to a horses head, of an overdraw and a martingale secured to the opposite ends of said frame to resist the movement of the horses head in opposite directions.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a frame, and means for. securing the same to the head of a horse, of an overdraw attached to one end of the frame, and a combined jaw and line martingale attached to the opposite end of said frame.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with aframe, of a nose-strap,

- a chin-strap, a jaw-strap and an overdraw all attached to said frame, and a martingale attached to the jaw-strap.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with aframe, ofa nose-strap, a chin-strap, a jaw-strap and an overdraw all attached to said frame, and a combined jaw and line martingale attached to the jaw-strap.

5. In a device of the character described,

the combination with a rigid frame comprising side bars having upwardly extended front ends, and transverse arches connecting the bars, of a chin-strap, a jaw-strap and a nose-strap all connected to the frame, a facestrap connected to the nose-strap, an overdraw attached to the upwardly-extended ends of the side bars, and a martingale secured to the jaw-strap.

6. In racing-harness, the combination with a rigid frame comprising side bars extending longitudinally of the animals head at opposite sides thereof and having upwardly and rearwardly extending front ends, of a jaw strap and a chin-strap extended under the animals head and secured to the side bars of the frame, a nose-strap connecting the side bars at a point between the jaw and chin straps and passing over the animals nose, an overdraw connected to the upwardly and rearwardly extended ends of the side bars, and a martingale connected to the jaw-strap.

7. In racing-harness, the combination with a rigid frame comprising side bars extending longitudinally of the animals head at opposite sides thereof and having upwardly and rearwardly extending front ends, of arches between the side bars of the frame to retain the latter in properly-spaced relation, a jawstrap and a chin-strap extended under the animals head and secured to the side bars of the frame, a nose-strap connecting the side bars at a point between the jaw and chin straps and passing over the animals nose, an overdraw connected to the upwardly and rearwardly extended ends of the side bars, and a martingale connected to the jaw-strap.

8. In racing-harness, the combination with a rigid frame comprising side bars extending longitudinally of the animals head at opposite sides thereof, of a jaw-strap and a chinstrap extended under the animals head and secured to the side bars of the frame, a nosestrap connecting the side bars at a point between the jaw and chin straps, and passing over the animals nose, an overdraw con- ICO nected to the front ends of the side bars, and

BENJAMIN W. KINDIG, JR.

Witnesses:

NOAH 0. MAY, JOHN C. OUTER. 

